Protein sheiks

A bluesy, woozy classic from Chicago’s indie heyday gets the royal treatment. By John Dugan

Bunny Gets Paid (Deluxe Edition) (Sub Pop)In the mid-’90s, Chicago’s underground scene was hot as shit, after Smashing Pumpkins and Liz Phair broke through to radio. Still, revolutionary rock label Sub Pop surprised many when it picked up local act Red Red Meat’s second album, Jimmywine Majestic, in 1994. On the surface, the Chicago-based quartet had much in common with the grunge rock of the era: It mined beloved collections of ’60s and ’70s albums for raw riffage and cultivated an attitude equal parts blasé, nihilistic and nostalgic. Guitars, fuzzed and blurred, were the act’s forte. But Meat was too quirky for the tag and for alt stardom—and it didn’t go in for bare-chested amplifier stabbing. The band also, perhaps unwittingly, built on Chicago’s electric blues heritage.Sub Pop, ever the tastemaker, has done well to select Bunny Gets Paid for a timely rediscovery and two-disc reissue with extensive artifacts from the era. Thanks to Fleet Foxes, Grizzly Bear and their ilk, atmospheric folk experimentation is in. Red Red Meat defined that vibe on “Sad Cadillac,” a slow, disorienting meditation, with the line “someone pissed in the hibachi.” Fittingly, the first word on the album centerpiece, “Gauze,” is medicated, and the album continually conjures visions of Keith Richards on a Robitussin binge. Bunny is a beautiful mess, precisely rendered. At times, Tim Rutili’s songs dance dangerously close to a version of alt-pop exuberance, as he communicates by primal tones rather than lyrics—his mumbling codes so mysterious they could be backward. But FM-worthy sing-alongs, such as “Chain, Chain, Chain,” make it an approachable record, too. The record majestically balances noise, folk, rock, blues and a tune from the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Christmas special. The group even toured with Smashing Pumpkins. So why didn’t Bunny Gets Paid send Meat to starry heights? Splitting in 1997, Rutili and other Meat men carried on as Califone, while drummer Brian Deck went on to produce acts like Modest Mouse and Counting Crows. Perhaps the problem was that, outside of Chicago, playing gigs in a seated position often came off as a fuck-you rather than a humble gesture. Today, bands can do gigs on a stool or, hell, even curled up in a beanbag. It might not have hit the buzz bin the first time around, but Red Red Meat was really on to something.Red Red Meat reunites at the Empty Bottle Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18. See Listings. Bunny Gets Paid (Deluxe Edition) is out now.